Happy 2020, everyone! I don’t know about you all, but I’m staring down the barrel of this new year and new decade with equal parts anticipation and apprehension. Between the big life changes I have coming my way and the fact that it’s an election year, I’m craving stability and consistency more than ever before, and setting intentional goals for myself is how I hope to find balance while everything around me is shifting.
As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I’ve become much more mindful about where the majority of my time and energy is going. I used to set goals because I thought they sounded good, or because they fit the person I thought I should be. Thanks to a growing awareness of time passing, a better understanding of what I want for myself and from my life, and an increased desire to prioritize my own happiness and well-being, I’ve become much better at focusing on what matters most to me and ignoring the rest.
Here’s to continued improvement and continuing to make the best of my available time in the year ahead. And here are the resolutions I’ve decided on that will hopefully help me to do that:
1. Stick to my bedtime routine and assigned bedtimes 80% of the time during all twelve months of this year. (My planner has a habit tracking function that I am obsessed with, and I’ve used it to great effect in the past.)
2. Pick up my guitar again and stick with it this time. (I’ve missed making music!)
3. Find a regular, enjoyable social outlet BEFORE I move. (Once the holidays end, my social time tends to drop off, and I want to avoid that if at all possible this year.)
Meanwhile, my business plan for this year includes:
1. Complete the first draft and first solo revision pass of my Web Girl Vigilantes manuscript. Hand the manuscript off to my CPs for additional feedback and begin a second revision pass of my own before September.
2. Write and submit 2-3 nonfiction articles to various websites, magazines, or publications.
3. Submit my completed short fiction works to 20-25 different publications this year.
What are your New Years Resolutions? Or, if you don’t make resolutions, what are you hoping to accomplish in the coming year?